Shapes Of Time
Heading out from Rouffignac before dawn on a darkly foggy road, we leave the lights of summer weeks spent with those dear to us behind.
It occurs to me as we drive that the large shapes looming up towards us out of the fog, strange in their unfamiliarity, are rather like the landscape of the future. I’m also reminded of the movie Arrival when Dr Louise Banks, played by Amy Adams, taken up into the ship for the first time, sees the aliens’ vague form emerging through the mist and opens her mind to the astonishing possibilities of communication with benevolent beings whose entire conceptual framework is alien to our own. It’s a great film.
As we drive further the light rises in the sky. I can almost see the sprites tripping softly out of the mist which sits delicately on top of the fields that we pass in our approach to Bordeaux and the beginning of our train journey back to London. Pulling away from the station in Paris later in the day, we’re lulled by the rhythm of the train and and visions of the summer weeks float by.
The skies are grey today. For much of our time here they were bright blue with a burning sun. The rain when it came, offering cooler temperatures, was always welcome.
Precious moments can seem hard to find sometimes in this hard world of ours. The days that we spend in Europe during our summers are like jewels on a necklace. Beautiful in their individuality, their full effect can best be seen when viewed at some point as a whole. This year my daughter’s delight in her surroundings and the presence of her grandparents fizzed with a continuously bright effervescence.
There were times full of quiet where we shared days together at home. There were stretches of activity when friends gathered and much needed reunions were had. I relished the fast driving around the countryside during the day and came to relax with the night time experience of the same. There were precious moments of shared religious experience at magical outdoor places amongst the flowers. Amidst the fractured nature of things it was a time of strangely wonderful beauty. My sense of continuity; frayed by wider current events was repaired gently, with love and without fuss. Heading back out into months of uncertainty I feel strongly restored. Whatever the strange shapes of the future we encounter, we will find the way forward.
I sit in the London apartment, where our stay began and now comes to its close as autumn takes its first bite out of the crisp air. The familiar feeling of time bringing its circle to completion arises. It’s a feeling that I always experience with respect as we move from scene to scene.
